1. Field
The present invention relates generally to processing systems and, more specifically, to updating firmware within a processing system.
2. Description
High stability and availability are very important for certain processing systems, such as computer servers for example. Servers that advertise mission critical capabilities often require an up-time of 99.999% (“59s”). This means that during a given year, a server might be available to be brought off-line to update firmware or to perform routine maintenance for only five minutes to maintain the advertised level of service. However, it is possible that during the year updates to firmware may be needed. Traditionally, this requires the server to be brought down and restarted. Bringing the processing system down, updating the firmware, and performing a system reset operation might result in a server being out of service for longer than the advertised availability. Hence, a way to update the firmware without performing a system reset is desirable.